Governor Siminalayi Fubara and his family members were held hostage at the Government House, Port-Harcourt, by a contingent of heavily armed soldiers Tuesday night.
The development comes after President Bola Tinubu declared State of emergency in the State.
Mr. Tinubu justified his decision on the lingering political face-off in the state which escalated on Tuesday with bombing of two oil pipelines by suspected militants.
Rivers government sources according to The Peoples Gazette, revealed that soldiers carrying out the president’s orders on declaring the state of emergency, barricaded all entrances and exits to the government house immediately after the president’s speech.
Attempts by Mr Fubara and his family to pack their belongings out of the Government House was obstructed by the soldiers, who stopped all movements around the premises.
“We are being held hostage,” an affected official told The Gazette from the scene on Tuesday night. “They said they don’t have instruction to let anyone leave the premises.”
Though, it was unclear whether the soldiers implemented their duties as instructed or were overzealous in following specific orders.
Moreover, Mr Tinubu’s declaration to suspend the warring parties from office for six months, sparked debates across social media as concerned stakeholders argued whether the president had constitutional grounds to suspend an elected governor whom the state lawmakers have not yet impeached.
Recall that efforts to impeach Mr Fubara began on Monday, barely 24 hours before Mr Tinubu imposed an emergency ordinance.
The president named the retired chief of naval staff, Ibok-Ete Ekwe Ibas, as the military administrator in Rivers in the interim.
